Voters renew Sebastian County sales tax for another 10 years

Sebastian County voters on Tuesday (Aug. 8) approved by a wide margin another 10-year run for the county’s 1% sales tax. The tax, which generated almost $34 million in 2022, was first approved by county voters in 1994.

With 1,779 votes tallied by the Sebastian County Clerk’s office as of 8:45 p.m., there were 1,357 votes (76.45%) for the tax renewal and 418 (23.55%) votes against renewal. (Update: The 9:20 p.m. report showed 2,466 votes (75.27%) for the tax renewal and 810 votes (24.73%) against.)

“I would like to thank everyone who supported continued progress in our county. This revenue will allow us to continue to move forward,” Sebastian County Judge Steve Hotz told Talk Business & Politics. “There is a lot that is happening in the River Valley and with this, we will be able to continue to provide the services that people depend on and will be expecting us to continue.”

It has been renewed twice for a 10-year interval, the last during a special election May 14, 2013. The tax is set to sunset June 30, 2024.

Collections from the tax are divided among the 11 municipalities in the county and the county itself based on a per capita percentage, according to Hotz. Of the $33.768 million collected from tax in 2022, 85.8% went to the towns and cities inside the county. The county received 14.2% in 2022 or approximately $4.8 million. The tax makes up about 10% of the county’s funds, Hotz said.

The Fort Smith portion of the countywide sales tax – which was 69.8% of the total collections in 2022 – provides $23 million per year into the general fund, which provides the majority of the funds for the fire and police departments. Greenwood received approximately $2.5 million from the tax in 2022, which was 7.4% of the collections.

Greenwood Mayor Doug Kinslow said spending on parks would likely have been reduced without the tax renewal, and it would have been tough to fully fund police and fire budgets.

“We’re very, very thankful for it to pass. You never know with one of these on a special election. … I’m not sure ‘detrimental’ is the word, but it definitely would not have been good for Greenwood if it had not passed,” Kinslow said.

There was no organized opposition to renewal of the tax, and only a modest campaign for it. A financial report filed with the Arkansas Ethic Commission by Citizens for Continued Progress, and signed by Hotz, on Aug. 2, states the group raised $17,500 for promotion of the tax renewal and the election. The biggest contributor was $12,500 from the Fort Smith Regional Council, which is affiliated with the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce. The committee spent $15,643 of the funds as of Aug. 2, with most of the spending on the printing of fliers and yard signs.